Scarlet Night, White Moon
by AManwithaB0x
Summary: On clear summer nights when the moon is full, one can almost see a world that might have been... and on this night, one who should be dead shall return, reigniting the embers of a cold, dead heart. Raven X Summer. Rated M for good reasons. (Co-written by Sha Yurigami)
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: This story is officially co-written by author Sha Yurigami, as we came up with this idea together almost 2 years ago, now (maybe longer? Time has a habit of getting away from me). Sorry for the delay, man. This tale is set in something of a double-AU – that is, two worlds that sit right next to each other, so to speak. The idea is that in each world, **_**someone **_**died… and someone else lived. I'll explain more at the end of the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY in any way. For the purposes of simplicity, I am using non-canon character details that fall in line with my other works, mainly those surrounding Summer Rose as she briefly appears in **_**Paradigm of the Rose**_**. Strong language ahead.**

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_…_  
_… … …_  
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As she awoke that morning, her whole body felt… off.

Her eyes hurt, her nose was burning and she felt as if her head was going to burst. The sheets that once covered her in peaceful slumber now lay in shreds all around the bed. Her fingers hurt, as did her knuckles, forearm and chest. The pain in her belly slowly grew more numb while the aching in her legs increased by the minute. How strange…

Deep down she knew what was wrong, but she chose to ignore it. Easier that way.

Slowly she raised her head, feeling the dull gray light touching her skin through the cracks and holes in the walls. It felt cold in spite of the summer heat raging outside. Cicidas, dragonflies and all those other multi-legged children of nature were singing and dancing as if the past two months had never happened. Annoyed, she took the pillow from beneath her head and threw it at the already broken window, causing the scraps of the tattered pillowcase to fall off her shoulders. There was a dull thump as the thing landed somewhere outside. Dust from the outside drifted in, forming a path little fairies would follow to sing their songs of joy and sorrow. Noisy bastards.

Tiredly she lifted her aching arm, wiping the crust from her dry eyelids. She needed to get ready and… make breakfast for everyone. Yeah, breakfast. Dragging her feet off the mattress, her body slowly made for the closet to get dressed in her Huntress gear. Lately she felt that she'd been wearing this outfit _every day_. Though just like when she was a student, she slowly dressed herself without forming a thought or uttering a sound. Everything was automatic. Easier that way.

After putting on her boots, she tied the laces tightly and made her way out of the broken door, ignoring the splintered wood. She didn't register the sound or feel of rubble beneath her feet or the crunching of broken glass as she walked past queer, badly distorted pictures. She ignored everything. Easier that way.

Slowly, one painful step at a time, she walked down the creaking staircase. Ignoring the blonde mess lying on the couch, she made her way to the kitchen. She absently took a carton of badly spoiled milk and poured it into a frying pan, mixed some honey that was turning green and a nugget of old salt into it and slowly started to stir the mixture over a medium flame. The stove whined as it was used, no longer willing to work properly but unable to simply expire. It _had_ to keep working if they were going to eat, right? She didn't even notice the stench.

After a minute she grabbed …'s and …'s cereal and mixed them into her mess with strong and careful stirs of her spatula. Letting her creation simmer in the pan, she took four slightly broken plates out of the cupbroard. Her fingers ached from the weight and she ignored the feeling of sharp edges digging into her skin as she sat some tableware atop the kitchen counter. She took the two plastic cups with …'s and …'s names written on them and sat them next to the smaller, less damaged plates.

Once the pan started burning, she mustered every ounce of air in her lungs to give the call, "…! …! Breakfast is ready!" It didn't get far as she wheezed, her throat tight. Despite the effort, her heart beat agonizingly slow. The pains in her body grew slightly sharper.

"Summer?"

A voice came near, rough and husky with a hint of alcohol wafting on his breath. "Holy fuck, what are you _doing, Summer?!"_ The owner of the voice screamed and rushed to the flaming pan, quickly throwing it along with its flaming contents out of the hole in the wall he had just come through. The vile concoction splattered onto the dirt, instantly extinguished.

She knew this man once, a long time ago – that familiar red cape, now tattered, burned and soaked in black, oozing blood, shaggy black hair with more gray than she ever expected him to earn, and a face that was once filled with life – but that was an age ago.

"Qrow."

Shaking his newly burnt hands, the scruffy man turned to face her with eyes wide with shock. She couldn't fathom just what he was thinking. "So _now_ you fucking remember me," he spat. He took out a silver flask from his back pocket and chugged something from it – she didn't need to know what he drank, just that it lost any effect on her weeks ago. And not from lack of trying.

Weeks? Had it been that long?

Slow, heavy steps followed by the fluttering of that cape were the only sounds as Qrow paced the broken living room. "Last week you forgot our names," Qrow spat, gulping down more of his beverage, "And the week before _that,_ Tai lost all fucking _sense of himself."_ He kicked a chair in her direction, which she took to steady her wobbly legs.

Her tired silver eyes wandered over to the blonde man on the couch, his eyes blank and mouth tightly shut. She remembered the once strong and emotion-filled man. She remembered the bright and cheerful lavender eyes looking over their little family, his smile, and the way he took …'s and …'s hands when they first started to walk. She remembered … getting angry at him and that he needed to let the girls try it on their own first…

The distant memory of his tear-stricken face as he watched the toddlers who fell on the ground due to his 'helpful' hands.

She remembered and the tears returned – she had prayed that they dried up a long time ago. By all rights she should have been long out of them by now.

That blonde, lovable oaf… laid with vacant eyes on the couch. Dead to the world around him. Empty.

It was easier that way.

"_Damn it all,"_ Qrow growled, barely raising his voice as he patted the dormant man's shoulder, the sword in his other hand quivering while his eyes remained focused on a picture frame laying at his feet. It was one of the only ones left that still looked… as it did before. Tears slowly welled up and fell onto the unbroken glass. "I… I don't really want to remember them. _Fuck,_ it would've been better had it been _me_ that… … … Summer." He turned to her, his eyes looking even more lost, "They haunt me, like so many others."

He let go of his friend and leaned down to grab the frame. Carefully, as if bearing the weight of the world, he lifted it and caressed the surface longingly.

"…?"

The ragged woman struggled to comprehend her own feelings. She approached Qrow, the pain growing worse in her brain the longer he held the frame, the longer he stared at the image. She approached him and extended her hands to take it for herself.

Their gazes met and she looked directly into Qrow Branwen's red eyes.

Ruby irises.

Ru…b…y…

Her eyes snapped wide as her hands slapped over her face. A cry of agony and pure sorrow burst out of her throat. Her belly felt like it was on fire. There was ice in her brain.

"Summer? _Summer!_"

She ignored it. That was all she ever did. It was all she _could_ do. Easier that way.

She ignored the pain, the embrace of strong arms around her and soothing words whispered desperately into her ears.

It grew.

The pain grew in her head, in her throat.

It grew so much, so hard, it soon became completely unbearable. The screams returned, the darkness surrounding her, her loved ones, her …, and yet despite the growing uncertainties and the horrors… she wasn't ready to face them yet…

Then she saw something, like a glimmer of light in the distance. She saw it with her soul before her eyes fully knew what it was.

A weapon. _Her_ weapon.

A pair of curved S-shaped swords mounted over the broken fireplace, still in good shape.

Crescent Moon… Slayer of Demons.

She thrashed around in Qrow's grip, throwing her arms and body until Qrow released her and she grabbed the swords. The weak mounting shattered into sawdust as she yanked them free.

"Summer! _Get a hold of yourself, Dammit!"_ Qrow screamed holding up his hands, his own eyes glimmering with wetness. "They're _gone!_ Everyone's _gone!_ Ruby! Yang! Rav-"

"_DON'T SAY THEIR NAMES!"_ she cried, whimpering, repeating over and over the same four words like a mantra, slowly, slowly lowering the twin blades but not releasing them. _"Don't say their names… Don't say their names…"_

She knew was Qrow was doing, but she wasn't ready to face it yet. Not yet. Maybe never.

"You _have_ to face it Summer Rose… you're our leader, after all."

"_Shut up!"_

"No, I won't. Kiddo, we _fucking_ _lost_. The war is _over_. Did you look outside lately? The mist…" his eyes lowered and stared at the dirty floor, "That _red mist_… it's proof we failed. Remember what Oz said: Those who hunt monsters should beware they don't _become them."_ He gritted his teeth, growling like the beasts they used to hunt. "I always _hated _how he said that…"

Qrow held his face, as though trying to hold the last shreds of his humanity together. He remained still, looking at her as a single black tear dripped from his right eye. There was no longer any trace of white behind that red iris. "Face it Summer, we can't go back to how it used to be. It's over."

"No…" she whispered while her oldest friend and companion leaned against the couch, struggling to hold onto his soul.

"It's over, and the only thing left to do… is go down in a blaze of glory."

"You want to die."

"… … … I just don't… want to turn into… a fucking _monster."_

"No, no nononono_nonononono NO._ No, not you too!" She couldn't bear the pain, the suffocating atmosphere of this place any longer. This place of death. A place that was supposed to be a good, warm, loving home… not hell itself.

She ran screaming out of the hole in the side of the house, no longer able to hear anything around her – so she missed his last words.

"Find a way out of this, kiddo. If it's you, then… then… … … maybe…" He whispered as his eyes grew vacant, looking into the distance.

… … … … … …

_It was there he saw it._

_At first he didn't know what he was looking at._

_A speck of red. The ruins in the Emerald Forsest._

_He felt like he was floating in the air, hovering above the ground yet unable to free himself from the ice that encased his tail. The red speck approached with a speed he'd only ever seen once before._

_His eyes widened as he saw the red figure aiming for his head with a massive scythe he would have loved to wield himself. A girl, so young yet so full of energy, deep red hair adorning her head and silver eyes brimming with life, …Qrow didn't care about staying alive any longer._

_The last thing he felt was a swell of pride in his chest when he realized who it was that took him to a better place. A kinder world._

… … … … … …

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_…_  
_… … …_  
_…

She ran.

Swords in hand and chest bursting with pain, she didn't allow that fatigue to catch up with the rest of her. She couldn't. She wouldn't.

She ran.

No longer did she care about the world around her as it turned red and the mist slowly took away the ground from beneath her feet. If it took her, then so be it.

She just ran. It was… easier this way.

On and on until everything was white… and she felt a soft tap on her right shoulder. She spun around, ready to slash at whoever it was that managed to sneak up on her, yet her eyes once again grew wide when the only thing she saw… _was her own face._

Paler, yet more alive than she herself felt, the woman before her smiled and moved her lips, yet the sound of her words disappeared within the bombardment of the static noise of the white world they were in.

Her double's gentle hands guided the weary woman towards a place where the noise wasn't nearly as bad. In fact, it slowly started to disappear as she watched with scared eyes how the mirror of herself was starting to dissolve into a flurry of white rose petals.

_[I can take you no further… … …]_

The double's voice finally whispered to her and for the first time Summer truly believed that it was real.

"I-I don't un-"

A soft hand caressed her cheek, telling her to step thinking. The warm smile on her mirror's face told her the truth she didn't want to understand.

_[Go, she needs you…]_

The ghostly form whispered just as the shape she held slowly wilted away… and was gone.

The mist slowly parted, leaving her standing alone in the middle of a strange forest. The ground was moist, her swords heavy – yet they reminded her that she still lived. The pain was still there but she pushed onward.

Nothing made sense anyway… so why should she bother thinking about it…?

Her deep red hair hung over her eyes, tinting her view of the surroudings with a crimson hue. The sounds of the forest were silent and… almost stifled. She knew better than to feel fear or else _they_ would find her, but aside from the eerie silence only the faint sound of clanging metal could be heard.

"…!"

She knew that sound. Her eyes widened as she ran towards it, almost dragging her twin swords through the grass. Gods, had she ever been this tired before?

No time to be tired. A battle loomed ahead. It was the sounds of fighting.

Somebody was fighting in the distance and she couldn't bear the thought that either … or … were in the middle of that!

She _had… _to go… she _had _to…

No time for doing this the easy way. Not anymore.

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_…_  
_… … …_  
_…

The woman watched with impassive eyes as the villagers tried feebly to defend themselves from her men. Pathetic, really. The last of them fell quickly as their goods vanished into the wilderness.

These days it was so easy to find their provisions and even _easier_ to find the Dust they tried to hide from the SDC. A mild hum escaped her lips, not that anybody could hear it with her mask covering her face. Too easy.

When did it become so easy to just… _take_ from others?

Then again, the strong lived and the weak died… that was nature, was it not?

"…"

Of course she _had_ to think about them, now of all times. _Now_, like she hadn't just left them behind and disappeared like the phantom she always tried to be. She was the only one who was clever enough to leave before Ozpin could get a hold of them any more than he already did. That meant _they _were the ones who deserved to be left behind… right?

"…"

And yet… she cannot deny that she missed… _something_ about them.

Something that was… weak and unnecessary. There was no need for it… right?

Through force of habit she glanced up, focusing on the distant and shattered moon – but for just a second, for just the _tiniest_ of moments… she saw a full moon. Not shattered… _whole_.

And just like that, the illusion was gone.

"Maybe I'm not as sane as I imagined," she whispered holding her masked face in her palm. Then she heard something familiar carried on the wind. Something… from another life. A strange, white mist was rolling in from somewhere behind her, carrying the noise with it.

It was approaching quickly. Timid legs, timid footfalls, timid huffs of air… and she felt her entire body reacting to it, moving completely against her will. Responding the same way she used to so long ago, in the presence of someone… who should be dead.

In that next second, as she looked back… she found herself unable to turn away. Unwilling. There was nothing she could do.

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_…_  
_… … …_  
_…

Heavy.

Her steps, her heart, everything felt heavy… but she couldn't stop her feet from moving.

Couldn't stop. All reason was well beyond her tired mind.

She felt numb, yet didn't slow down and finally saw a clearing in front of her. A clearing with a single Grimm standing in front of her.

A Grimm with surprisingly human features.

Black feathers on its back like a never more, resembling hair… a bone-like mask instead of a face… and… a _skirt?_

Her steps faltered.

Her eyes widened.

Her heart stopped.

A single word escaped her lips:

"_R-Raven…?"_

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_…_  
_… … …_  
_…

_She_ couldn't be here.

No… it was _impossible_. She was _dead._

There was no way _that woman _could be standing in front of her. No way that after all these years _she_ could be alive.

Yet everything inside of Raven Branwen conflicted over the appeareance of a woman who looked exactly like Summer Rose, someone who should be _long dead._

"R-Raven…?" the woman spoke, her tone hollow, disbelieving… but to hear that voice… a voice she never thought she would hear again… once again mutter her name… _gods…_

Whether it was out of pure instinct or something else, Raven did not know… but just as the frail woman collasped before her, Raven rushed over and caught the much smaller girl before she ever hit the ground. Whatever possessed her to do such a thing, even going as far as gently embracing the shivering body of this weak and truly pathetic creature, she did not know.

And you know what? _She did not care._

Something fell into the abyss she tried so hard to create – the hole in her heart that was meant to protect her from all outside forces – and woke up what had lain dormant within her heart. A tiny spark, an ember, lighting up that which she wanted nothing to do with. For the first time in years, Raven felt a stirring of… emotion.

"Dammit, Summer… _every damn time…"_ she whispered as something warm and wet fell from her eyelids.

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_…_  
_… … …_  
_…

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**A/N: I suppose a little explanation is in order here.**

**First off, about two years ago (give or take) I went through a major depression in my life. I connected with Sha Yurigami on this website and the two of us discussed a possible co-writing project in which Summer and Raven from two different worlds sort-of… crossed over. The idea was that in the world where Summer lived, Ruby, Yang and Raven died. On the other hand, the world she crosses into is one where **_**she **_**should be dead… but on one supernatural evening, two worlds collide… (and no, it's not connected to **_**Paradigm.**_**)**

**I decided to go ahead and finally tackle this thing due to a few factors: my failing marriage and my recent gallbladder surgery. I'm okay, but those painkilers… **_**whooooo. **_**Fun times.**

**ANYway… This story will likely be a slow release (depending on both me and my co-writer), but I plan to focus this tale on a romance between Raven and an other-worldly Summer. As in, **_**romance.**_** I plan to get steamy with this one. You have been warned.**

**;)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Like I said, slow updates. I won't apologize for the delay, though… I'm finally starting to understand what it means to write free stuff like this. Took me long enough, eh?**

**Since I wasn't too clear last chapter (and since I hadn't even decided this yet), the two 'worlds' shown in this story are **_**both**_** AU – Salem managed to release a new weapon (the Red Mist) before her death in both timelines, but it only ravaged the planet in one. As such, don't expect to see any true canon details. As a side note, I had **_**no idea **_**Sha Yurigami already put out a fic of the same name long before I did. He's cool with it though, so imma keep going.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY in any way. This variation of Summer Rose is based on the one created for my other story **_**Paradigm of the Rose**_**, as we don't have enough canon details to work with yet. Strong language ahead.**

**(As of writing this chapter, I still haven't seen volume 6… but it **_**is **_**out on DVD now, so it won't be much longer.)**

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The logs crackled, smoke and fumes wafting up through the opening at the top of the tent. The fire was large enough to keep the tent itself warm, but small enough that there was no chance of any embers flicking onto something flammable. Power under control, in a visual form.

Dim light from the flames danced around the open space, highlighting numerous items that one would typically find in the personal tent of a Chief – cases of valuable goods, weapons, crates of Dust (what was left of it), and an important-looking chair. Nearest the fire were a variety of personal items and a large sleeping cot.

Lying on that cot was a woman… who should not be there.

Raven sat back against a large crate of stolen fabrics, one of their more recent finds, and sighed deeply. She'd been doing that a lot. Every time she laid eyes on the woman in the cot, she felt her sanity slipping further and further away.

The twin blades called Crescent Moon glittered in the firelight from their spot in the dirt where Raven had thrust them earlier tonight – the weapons were not enough proof that the sleeping woman was who she seemed, but _dammit _it was hard to argue. Like their owner, those weapons were supposed to have been destroyed in the final battle.

Team STRQ was supposed to be dead. Much of the world had been saved through their sacrifice.

So why… the _fuck…_ was Summer here?

Several years ago, a war had been fought. It was only between one team of Huntsman and pure evil, but it was on a global scale – hence it was known as a war. Ozpin knew good and well that the mission he was sending them on was suicide, but that didn't stop those idiots from blindly following his orders. At the time, Raven's only regret was that she couldn't talk her fool of a brother out of it before it was too late. Even if she hated his guts… he _was_ family.

The others died to fulfill their mission. Only Raven fled. Only Raven _lived._

But there were consequences. There were _always _consequences.

"Mmm… uhh…" the woman in white started moaning, turning over as she slowly regained conciousness. Raven fought back the urge to quickly throw on her mask, choosing instead to face this spectre of her past directly. The smaller woman continued to stir these… unwanted feelings in Raven's chest, and she wanted to know why.

Both in the past and in the present… why?

Why could she not stop thinking about this woman?

…

_/_/_/_/_/

"_So your name's Raven? That's a cool name! I'm Summer Rose. Nice to meet you."_

"…"

"_Sooooo… I like your sword. That's a really neat design…"_

"…"

"_Okay, I get it, you're the quiet type. That's cool too. No problem-o."_

"…"

"_This forest is… kinda big, isn't it? I hope we're not getting lost…"_

"…"

"…_I hope we run into some Grimm soon, I'm getting bored. Walk, walk, walk… so boring!"_

"…"

"_So… any guys catch your eye yet? I might try talking with that blonde guy… what was his name? Taiyang? Tie-yank? He looked nice enough, though a bit of a goof…"_

"…"

"_Or maybe that black-haired guy, he looked cool. Come to think of it, he looked a lot like you, Raven…"_

"_That's because he's my brother."_

_*GASP!* "She speaks!"_

"…"

"…_Sorry, that was mean. I won't make fun of you anymore, promise."_

"… … …_Accepted."_

"_Yay! Okay, so I guess all we have to do now is find that artifact thingamabob and we're all done. Let's do it… partner."_

"…"

_/_/_/_/_/

…

Blast it… just the memory of that brilliant smile was enough to get her heart beating harder. But for the love of all the gods, _WHY?!_

Raven Branwen and her brother Qrow were two of the best spies their tribe had ever trained, and they both knew it. Both were skilled in the art of taking a human life, and Qrow's natural bad luck provided the ideal means of covering their tracks, making most of their targets appear to have died by accident. Raven's ability to get them out of trouble through her portals was often times a life saver on tougher missions. All in all, they were the perfect team.

But then Ozpin had to go and get involved. Hopefully that damnable man was suffering in the appropriate level of hell for what he'd put them through.

On the other hand, if not for him… she never would have met Summer Rose.

Maybe that was it… … … Raven, a woman who lived in shadows, had simply never met anyone who so perfectly belonged in the light. Who _was _the light. _Her _light.

"…! …!" The woman on the cot choked out a few wordless cries, her mouth forming what looked like names. Neither of them were names Raven recognized.

Summer's head wavered from side to side, those odd names trying to come out a few more times – it almost looked like she was dreaming – and then a few dry coughs. Raven quickly reached for the canteen, darted forward, then took the frail woman's head in her hands to steady it. She gently tilted the canteen, letting the cool liquid flow into Summer's mouth. The woozy woman drank automatically, not spilling a drop.

Raven couldn't help but notice how Summer's skin looked rather pale, but after taking a drink she gained a bit of her color back. Her breathing also seemed to ease up. In fact, she looked like she was drifting back to sleep again.

And she looked… absolutely _beautiful._

The urge to run her fingers through that deep red hair… to inhale that natural perfume… to hold that fragile girl close and not let her go… to taste the sweet flesh… it was enough to drive a woman to pure _insanity._

Biting the inside of her cheek hard enough to taste blood, Raven gently laid Summer back down on the cot and adjusted the blankets. She then stood up and quickly made her way out to the training fields… before she lost her damn mind.

Summer Rose was dead. She was _fucking DEAD._

Best to leave it alone.

…

It was late by the time she was done destroying the training dummies.

Not that time meant anything here… it was _always _dark in Mistral.

Atlas, Vale, Vacuo, all those nicer places enjoyed normal weather. They had the other members of her old team to thank for that. Not that they _did_ – Raven kept up with most of the news from the outside, and those guys were barely a footnote in the fucking newspapers! Bastards didn't deserve any of it.

Thankfully, the weather was the only part of their victory that the rest of the world could enjoy. The Grimm were still tearing them apart beneath a lovely blue sky.

In a way, Raven was rooting for the creatures. She'd had enough of humanity.

After they'd managed to defeat the witch Salem, team STRQ found themselves facing a strange Red Mist that covered the entire planet. People stuck in the Mist never came out again – at least, not as humans. Raven actually watched one poor sap as he _turned into a Grimm._ Nasty.

Luckily for the rest of the world, three of the four members of team STRQ were on hand to give up their own lives to cleanse the world of the Mist. Three of the four kingdoms found themselves Mist free in the span of a day.

If Raven had stayed with the team, Mistral would have been among the clean nations… but now it was eternally dark. What was left of the Mist, thankfully, had been quarantined into a large section of the land and hadn't gone anywhere since. On top of that, the endless night of the country caused the other kingdoms to pull back on their trade agreements and even stop all passenger ships from heading there.

The Kingdom of Mistral had been left for dead.

Good. Assholes deserved it.

Vale should have stayed dark, too… but Summer sacrificed herself to cleanse it. She laid down her life to ensure the safety of people she would never meet, strangers who never even knew her name. That was just like her…

A lone tear slid down Raven's face at the thought. She angrily swiped it away.

Tea. She needed some damn tea.

Water was good for the throat and whiskey numbed the pain, but tea… that was something to help her relax. Not just the drink, either… turns out that _making _the tea was just as good for her nerves as drinking it. Odd, really. Certainly not something her old tribe would have expected of her.

Raven barged back into her tent without looking first, dropping her weapon off to the side, and quickly pulled out her tools. Thankfully she still had a good supply of tea leaves, as the chance of finding more anytime soon was slim – without sunlight, plants had a hard time growing normally. Her hands moved automatically as her mind returned to the one thing that continued to vex her.

Small hands she wanted to hold in her own. Deep red hair she wanted to play with. Smooth, pale skin she wanted to caress. Cheeks she wanted to nibble. Ears she wanted to taste. Rose-red lips she wanted to… to…

For. _Fucks. SAKE!_

Thankfully she was already finished with the tea, else she would have crushed the cup in her hand. Instead she reached over and grabbed a log of firewood and squeezed the crap out of it so she wouldn't hurt anything else. She could hear the wood splintering under her fingers.

Still fantasizing over a _dead woman? _Why the crispy crap could she not get a hold of these rampant emotions? _Why couldn't she control herself around this person? _It was bad enough that she had these fantasies back in the day, but why now?

After an agonizing few minutes, she set the log down and took a shaky sip of the tea. It didn't take long before she felt the drink working it's magic – every nerve in her body uncoiled, her shoulders drooped, and she breathed a deep sigh of relief. Much better.

Then she added a dash of whiskey from her flask, just fucking _because_.

"I saw that."

Raven very nearly dropped the flask from sheer surprise. She caught the thing, put the lid back on, then put the items down very deliberately. Then, gathering her courage, she turned to face the impossible woman behind her. The woman who should be dead. The woman who was now fully awake.

Silver eyes, like two pools of liquid steel. Staring at her. Staring into her soul.

_Gods… _she missed looking into those eyes.

"If _you're _here… … … then I must be dead…" Summer said with a careful voice. Those eyes never left Raven. "…Unless you're a ghost…?"

Raven's throat was suddenly very dry, so she took a swig of her tea before saying, "I assure you… I am very much alive."

"That can't be. You're supposed to be dead," Summer responded with slight irritation.

Raven kept a level stare at the woman as she said, "…That's _my _line."

Neither occupant of the tent spoke for the next several minutes. Summer simply looked around the tent, taking in the sights, before her gaze settled on the glittering forms of Crescent Moon. Raven noticed, however, that Summer's gaze was not actually on her own swords – rather, she was looking past them at where Raven's sword had landed on the dirt.

Summer thought _Raven_ was dead? Strange… but that would explain the shorter woman's confusion at the moment. Similar to her own.

Working quickly, Raven brewed another cup of tea and brought it over to Summer. The shorter woman took it without a word, blowing over the top to let it cool. A small smile found its way onto her face as she quietly mused, "…It's been a long time …since I've enjoyed your tea."

More time passed as the two former partners simply sat in silence. Summer sipped her tea wordlessly, her gaze locked onto nothing at all. Raven barely touched her own drink, as she was just looking at the tiny woman before her. The woman who looked like a stiff breeze could carry her away. The woman who had no business being here.

A warm throbbing started to grow in Raven's chest. She ignored it.

Summer had seemed confused to find Raven still alive, despite the fact that she _should _have expected it. What could that mean? If she was still alive, …did that mean the others were out there somewhere? Qrow? Tai?

If Ozpin were out there as well, Raven would probably just run him through with her blade right away. Bastard…

"Thinkin' deep thoughts?"

The calm train of thought that was running through Raven's mind suddenly derailed into a complete mess.

That… was the phrase Summer used to use on her… back then.

In a panic, Raven found a stray thought and acted on it, "You… you m-muttered something in your sleep earlier. It sounded like names. Who were they?" She seriously hoped she wasn't blushing right then.

All at once those silver eyes shot wide open, "…! …! How could I forget?! Raven… my girls… they're out there somewhere. … and …!" Again she formed words that her voice could not speak, her eyes bubbling over with tears as she suddenly tried to stand up. The half-full cup of tea spilled onto the ground.

Raven was just as fast, grabbing the shorter woman's arm and forcing her back onto the cot, "Don't you go out there, Summer! Just tell me… _who?"_

"You're here, so _they_ have to be, too! My daughters! … and …! … and …!"

"You never _had _any daughters! Now start talking sense before-"

_WHACK!_

The slap echoed through the space as Raven recoiled in shock, hand to her cheek. Summer's look was now openly angry, her eyes still brimming with tears.

"_You stay away from me…"_ she hissed, her teeth bared.

Raven's mind had shut down, her mouth moving but forming no words. This was too much. Summer _never_ got that mad before… and it was frightening.

The woman stumbled to her feet, staggered over to her swords and pulled one out of the ground, then hobbled over to the entrance of the tent and shuffled out.

Gone.

A dead woman… alive again… slapped her and just left.

And looking for daughters? She never lived long enough to have _any_ kids.

"…"

If not for the stinging sensation on her cheek, Raven would have sworn this was all a vivid nightmare.

"…The fuck am I doing…?" she muttered to herself as she chugged the last of her tea, then stood to her feet, picked up her own sword, and walked out into the endless night. The throbbing in her chest had spread to the rest of her torso and down into her lower regions, but she continued ignoring it.

Hopefully she'd catch that nutjob before they ended up getting lost in the Red Mist.

…_  
_…_  
_… … …_  
_…

How dare she say that?!

How dare she say…

How dare she…

How dare…

Summer stumbled on, once again wandering through a misty woodland in the dark. Totally alone. Only the vague memory of two smiling faces to guide her… bright blonde hair… silver eyes…

And just like that, the memory faded. The woman stopped, looking out into nothing.

How dare… she… _'she'?_

Who… who was…?

…

_/_/_/_/_/

_Raven held the child in her arms, trying her best to be gentle… but motherhood was still unknown to her. Summer smiled at her efforts, though._

"_Here… put your arm under her like… there you go," she coached. Little Ruby was now much more comfortable in Aunt Raven's arms. Little Yang watched from ground level, her lavender eyes watching the tall women with interest._

"_How… do you do this… every day?" Raven asked with a clear note of disbelief in her voice. She didn't dare pull her eyes away from the infant in her arms, however… she likely feared that the child would simply slip out of her grasp in an instant._

_Summer beamed, her face the picture of motherly pride, "If I could do it more often than that, I would. It's love, pure and simple." She reached out and lightly stroked the face of her second child, the girl who had finally inherited her silver eyes. Yang was almost the spitting image of her father, but Ruby… well, Ruby was bound to be spoiled rotten if no one stepped in._

_Raven didn't respond right away, but glanced up at Summer with eyes that held a deep emotion – what that emotion was, Summer could not tell. There was a distant pain in her gaze. Almost… longing?_

_Their home on Patch was one of the few places untouched by the Red Mist… but that was soon to change. She expected Ozpin to call them all up and send them out to do… something… to clear it all away._

_But they never got that chance…_

_/_/_/_/_/

…

Less than a year after that day, Raven disappeared. Almost two weeks after that, they received the report that both Raven and Ozpin were dead. They had failed.

On the plus side, it allowed Summer to spend a bit of time with her children before… before…

Before they…

Before they…

An image flashed through her mind, at once forbidden and hated – two small bodies lying motionless on the ground, in shallow pools of red liquid.

"_**! ~ ! ~ ! ~ ! "**_

The wordless scream tore out of her throat hard enough to cause damage, but she didn't care. She tasted blood in the back of her mouth, but she didn't care.

She wanted to rip the eyes out of her head, those damnable things that put that cursed image into her brain.

She wanted to pull the ears from her skull, those stupid organs that allowed her to hear the ringing laughter of innocence lost, of light snuffed out.

Most of all, she wanted to cut the beating heart from her chest – that foul, loathsome thing that always reminded her of the pain she had borne, the memories she couldn't outrun, and the life she had not escaped. She had no need of it.

The sword in her hand glimmered. She stared at it, the wheels in her head turning.

Ruby. Yang. Those were their names.

It was easier to forget them… but she wanted those names to be the last ones on her lips. Maybe then… she could see them again… one last time…

Dropping to her knees in the sparse grass of the forest, surrounded on all sides by a dense gray fog, Summer Rose lifted the blade in her hand and held it to her chest point-first. It was aimed right at her heart – there was no way she could miss, considering how hard it was beating.

Time stood still as all of creation waited on her to make the move. The tip pressed against her tunic, separating the fibers. Pressing into soft flesh. Only a little more. Only a little… push. The point of contact felt hot, like fire.

Ruby. Yang. She wanted to call their names one last time, and she opened her mouth… but something else jumped out first.

"_I'm sorry… Raven…"_

BANG!

The intended cut turned into a horizontal slash as the sword was shot out of Summer's hands, clattering on the nearby rocks. Blood quickly dyed her clothing from the new cut.

But she lived.

Raven stood some feet away, her weapon still smoking from the shot. Her face was the picture of grim determination… but another emotion warred with it. Fear.

Summer barely registered the sight before the pain overwhelmed her. She saw nothing else as the tears flowed forth like open taps. Her throat closed itself fully, only allowing choked sobs to come through.

Before she even realized it, Summer found Raven squatting on her haunches just in front of her. The woman's voice was firm, but dripped with a barely controlled anger, "I don't know who you think you're trying to _find_ out here, but I can promise you… they wouldn't want… _this."_

Raven's fingers lightly touched the fresh cut on Summer's chest.

"I don't know if you're the _real _Summer Rose or if you're just a figment of my imagination… but you're coming back to the tent with me, and that's final."

Summer was in no mood to argue, or even nod her head. She just kept sobbing like a child.

And then, in a startling moment, Summer felt herself being _picked up_ off the ground and swept into a princess carry. She always knew Raven was strong for a woman, but… damn. The shock was enough to stop her tears, if only for the moment.

"Let's get that cut cleaned up," Raven muttered as she walked back in the direction they'd come from.

Raven. Raven Branwen. A woman who was supposed to be dead… had just saved her life.

Again.

…

_/_/_/_/_/

"_Do I even want to know…?"_

_Thankfully the blood rushing to her head was enough to hide her embarrassed blush. "Nope," she popped the 'p' sound with a forced grin, trying to look like she was still in control. Hard to do when you were hanging upside down by your feet._

_Her view of the world was both upside-down and rotating slowly in a circle as the rope swayed, but she could still tell that Raven was close to laughing. That made Summer blush all the harder._

_To be fair, she hadn't had time to properly test this little trap. It was supposed to catch Grimm, not her!_

_Raven stepped closer and reached up – or down, in Summer's view – and undid the ropes. Rather than let her down to the ground, however, the taller woman casually tossed her partner over her shoulder like a sack of dirty laundry. This earned an indignant squawk._

"_What do you think you're doing?!"_

"_Taking you back to camp… and leaving the rope on your ankles. I want Tai to see this."_

"_You…! You…!" she huffed, but soon gave up. Raven was many things, but around Summer she was never mean-spirited. She merely showed an impish side that not many others knew about._

_All at once it occurred to her what _could_ have happened – hanging from a rope in a tree, defenseless… that was practically a death sentence in a world filled with hungry monsters. Raven had basically saved her life, albeit in an embarrassing way. Still…_

"_Thanks… for getting me out of that."_

_The red-eyed woman glanced at her charge, then put on a grin more often seen on her brother, saying, "Anytime."_

_/_/_/_/_/

…

Broken, disjointed images from their years at Beacon began to flash through Summer's mind – their first meeting in the Emerald Forest, graduation day, one of the many missions they did as part of team STRQ – and she finally gave a faint smile.

This woman was no ghost… she was real.

Summer gripped part of Raven's shirt with one hand and nuzzled her face into the woman's shoulder, drying her tears and relishing the warmth of human contact. Feeling the heartbeat of another living person.

She liked it there. She felt safe there, for the first time in a very long time.

…_  
_…_  
_… … …_  
_…

* * *

**A/N: Well, I hope you get an idea of the tone I'm shooting for with this fic. **_**Paradigm of the Rose **_**is my standard scifi-adventure story, **_**Worth a Thousand Words **_**is my romantic-comedy, and **_**Heart of Ice **_**is closer to a fantasy-drama – now I have a romantic-drama with **_**Scarlet Night White Moon **_**(I was only counting my ongoing stuff, btw). Will others come later? Maybe… but I'll be focusing on finishing what I have now before I start any more new fics.**

**Later!**

**^u^**


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